COLUMBUS — Ohio's top elections official says it appears that thousands of voters considered "active" are anything but.

Secretary of State Jon Husted (HYOO'-stehd) says a report has found nearly 18,500 dead people on the state's voter rolls. Records of registered voters were cross-checked with a list of deceased Ohioans maintained by the state Health Department.

The secretary is asking county elections boards to purge those who are deceased from the statewide voter database.

Husted said in a statement Tuesday that the integrity of voter data is critical from a cost, quality and confidence standpoint.

He wants to establish a more centralized state database so his office could more easily compare voter information with files kept by several state agencies, including the Bureau of Motor Vehicles and the prisons department.

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